Mr Ngiam Tong Dow
Top Civil Servant of Singapore, Beloved Supporter of NUS and FASS
(Economics, ’59)

The NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) is greatly saddened by the passing of Mr Ngiam Tong Dow on 20 August 2020 at the age of 83.

A prominent alumnus of the Faculty, Mr Ngiam graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with First Class Honours in 1959.  As a former civil servant of Singapore, Mr Ngiam contributed to Singapore’s economic development over four decades.

In recognition of his significant contributions to the Public Service, Mr Ngiam has been conferred various national public service awards, including the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1971, the Meritorious Service Medal in 1978 and the Distinguished Service Order in 1999.

Mr Ngiam was also actively engaged with the National University of Singapore (NUS).  He had been serving as Pro-Chancellor of NUS since 2000 and was the Chairman of the NUS Centennial Campaign Advisory Board in 2003.  Over and above his service to the NUS community, Mr Ngiam has also donated generously to university and FASS.  In 2006, Mr Ngiam and his family across two generations established the Mr and Mrs Ngiam Fook Quee Memorial Scholarship in honour of their parents and grandparents who had migrated to Singapore from China in the last century with nothing but the determination to work hard and succeed.

FASS presented Mr Ngiam the FASS Distinguished Arts and Social Alumni Award in 2016 for his enormous contributions to Singapore’s nation-building efforts and his strong commitment to and support of the University and the Faculty. In 2019, NUS bestowed upon Mr Ngiam the prestigious NUS Eminent Alumni Award.